Shia Waqf Board returns waqf properties 'encroached' by Azam Khan to Rampur's royal family

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In a setback to senior Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Muhammad Azam Khan, Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board has taken possession of several waqf properties from him and handed them over to Rampur's royal family.

Khan is currently lodged in Sitapur jail in over 100 cases pertaining to theft, criminal intimidation, fraud and encroachment. Shia Waqf Board chairman Ali Zaidi told PTI on Saturday that after the formation of the SP government in the state in the year 2012, many waqf properties 'encroached' by the then Waqf Minister Azam Khan have been returned to the original owners after due investigation.

He said this decision was taken in the last meeting of the board held on March 31. Zaidi said that during his tenure, Khan had illegally encroached on seven 'alal aulad' (succession-based) waqf properties of the royal family, including the fortified mosque and an 'imambara' the house or court of imam).

Azam Khan did this by directing Wasim Rizvi, the then chairman of the Shia Waqf Board, and made an outsider Wasim Khan the caretaker of these properties.

Once this was done, Azam Khan demolished the Shaukat Ali Bazar built on these properties in May 2013 despite a stay order by the court. He said after the reorganization of the Shia Waqf Board in November last year, an inquiry was conducted into the complaints of illegal occupation of the Waqf properties of the royal family, on the basis of which Waseem Khan was removed and Haider Ali Khan alias Hamza Miyan, the grandson of Begum Noorbano of the royal family, was made the caretaker.

Significantly, the rivalry between Azam Khan and the royal family of Rampur is quite old. The attitude of Azam Khan, who started his politics by giving the slogan 'Nawab vs Awam (king vs subjects)', was openly against the royal family of Rampur, said Saleem Hussain, a former aide of Azam Khan in Rampur. Khan, who has been in an important position in the Samajwadi Party government, has been aggressive against the royal family of Rampur, he added.

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